Currently there are several systems which have been developed or are under development for converting sunlight into electricity. A brief description of these systems along with their advantages and disadvantages are given below in order to give a better understanding of solar power.                1) Parabolic trough: This is one of the first systems that was developed and is still one of the favourite means being pursued in certain countries. In this system, a parabolic trough has a tube running through the focal-point. This tube has a coating which absorbs light efficiently. A high-temperature oil passes through this tube and is heated by the concentrated sunlight. This heated oil is then used to heat water into a superheated vapour which is used to drive a steam turbine which in turn drives a generator to produce electricity. A sun tracking system is used to track the position of the sun and a motor system is used to rotate the entire parabolic dish and associated pipes. The advantages of this system are that a single axis tracking is sufficient to follow the sun. It does have a major limitation which is that the maximum temperature that can be achieved is quite low since the long pipes re-radiate energy. Since radiation is proportional to the fourth power of absolute temperature, beyond a certain temperature, the receiver pipes start radiating as much energy as they receive. Thus such system is found to be not efficient enough.        2) Power tower: In this system, flat mirrors are used instead of parabolic ones. The receiver is placed on top of a high central tower and all the mirrors are positioned in such a manner that they reflect the sunlight onto this central tower receiver. The advantage of the system is that it is possible to achieve much higher temperatures than is possible in the parabolic trough system and, therefore, much higher efficiency. This system also has the advantage of having much less piping. The disadvantages are that each mirror has to follow the sun in a specific manner so as to focus the light on to the receiver at the top of the central tower. The height of the tower also increases with the size of the solar array which increases the cost. The biggest disadvantage is that a lot of the mirrors would be tilted at an angle during peak sunlight hours and, therefore, not maximizes energy collection during the time of maximum sunlight. The receiver also has a large surface area which re-radiates very large amounts of energy, which limits the maximum temperature of operation.        3) Parabolic dish: The current design for parabolic dish systems consists of a large parabolic dish which focuses sunlight onto a Stirling engine which is used to directly convert heat into electricity. This design allows for very high temperatures and therefore higher efficiencies than the parabolic trough system. The problem with the systems in current designs is that they end of being very expensive and have a lot of individual parts resulting in requirement of high maintenance.        4) Photovoltaic systems: These systems directly convert light into electricity using the photovoltaic effect. The drawback with these systems is the high starting cost along with low efficiencies. Another problem is that of storing electricity which is much more difficult, expensive and polluting then storing heat.        5) WO/2012/128877 describes an enclosure, such as a greenhouse, which encloses a concentrated solar power system having line-focus solar energy concentrators. The line-focus solar energy concentrators have a reflective front layer, a core layer, and a rear layer. The core and the rear layers, when bonded with the reflective front layer, enable the line-focus solar energy concentrator, in some embodiments, to retain a particular form without additional strengthening elements. In some embodiments, the core layer is a honeycomb layer. In some embodiments, the core layer and/or the rear layer are formed by removing material from a single piece of material.        6) Others systems: There are various other systems in experimental stages which are unlikely to achieve much success for technical reasons and will, therefore, not be discussed here.        
The biggest problem faced by mankind today is a continuous burning of fossil fuels to provide energy. This has resulted in a situation where the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been steadily increasing at an exponential rate. This is resulting in global warming that'll be very detrimental unless the burning of fossil fuels is stopped immediately. In the absence of a cheap alternative source of energy, this is not going to happen. The only source of power which can provide all the energy needs of the planet is solar energy. The present intention is not only to provide an alternative to electricity generation but also to ensure that all automobiles and other machines, heating of homes during winter and any other the energy requirements are all provided only through renewable sources such as solar. In short, human beings will provide absolutely no further carbon pollution of this planet. Only then will we be able to ensure that this planet will be able to sustain life until the Sun goes supernova. The only way this is going to happen is with a design that is cheap, easy to mass produce, low maintenance, highly efficient, highly mechanised requiring little human intervention, and has a 30 to 50 year plant life.
The most important consideration to the success or failure of any project is the price of the final product. No matter how many benefits solar power may have over fossil fuels or other technologies, there is little chance of success if the price of solar power is more than that of other power sources. It is, therefore, imperative to design a solar power plant which can provide unsubsidized power at a rate which is cheaper or equal to that of any fossil fuel.